S1 Episode 08: Into The Deep
by firebreathingfishies
Summary: The Tardis ends up on a submarine 5500 fathoms deep on an alien planet where 100,000 humans apparently went insane. The Doctor decides to help the scientists figure out what happened, but Ashley is a little more distracted by the constant drip... COMPLETE
1. Off Course

**A/N: Okie dokie... I managed to whittle off my first chapter for Episode 8, and I have my storyline down. Warning though, this one is a lot darker than episode 7. Probably moreso than any of them to be honest... Will run for about twelve chapters as usual. Anyway, hope you enjoy! x**

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**Chapter One**

**Off Course**

_The air was so cold. So cold that the smallest drop of liquid froze solid. White mist hung lazily in the air and poured from the smooth, icy walls. The beads of sweat that had formed on her forehead had turned into tiny crystals. A thin, glass spike hung from the edge of her nose. Her eyelashes glittered. The front of her vibrant hair stuck to her forehead. Her teeth chattered as she shivered. _

_He wasn't far from her, no more than ten meters or so, and he was moving quickly but at the same time he didn't seem to be moving at all. Everything seemed slow. So slow that she could see the bead of sweat rolling down his forehead stop in its place and glaze over. She saw the tear in the corner of his eye freeze before it had a chance to slip down his cheek._

_Warmth was rising up her, starting from her feet. She was frightened. Terrified, but she couldn't move. She reached out a hand to him, willing him to hurry, to catch her before she fell, to save her from the blackness and beyond._

_The ground crumbled and she began to fall. His fingers brushed hers, so close yet so far. It was the briefest of touches, but there was so much energy. No, so much grief. She stared up at his face as it grew smaller, her eyes pleading with him. She heard his voice as clear as day as the darkness engulfed her;_

'_I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.'_

* * *

Ashley woke up with a jerk and looked around. Half of her hair covered her face and she pushed it back, for a moment completely unaware to where she was. Then she saw him by the controls. He didn't look at her. These days he didn't have to.

'You're a strange sleeper I'll give you that.' The Doctor told her. 'Did you know you talk in your sleep?'

Ashley pushed herself up in the seat by the controls and smoothed her hair down with her hands. 'I didn't even realise I'd fell asleep.' She said. She looked down to see his coat covering her. 'What was I saying?'

'Oh, something about Turkish Delight. Is food _all_ you think about?'

When she looked up he was smiling at her in that cheeky way that meant he had planned something that she would either love, or that would quite possibly get them both killed. She narrowed one eye at him suspiciously.

'What are you up to?' she asked.

He grinned and reached into his pocket. 'You're going to love this.' He beamed. He pulled out the psychic paper and thrust it in her face. She had to move her head back and blink to focus.

'It doesn't say anything.' She pointed out.

'I know.' He beamed.

Ashley raised an eyebrow at him, wondering if he had banged his head or something. He only grinned back at her. 'So…?' she enquired. 'Are we going to a Pictionary party or something? Because that sounds crap.'

The Doctor sighed. 'I mean that we don't _need_ an invitation because I've got this.' He wiggled the paper and sighed from her blank expression. 'Don't you want to know which party we're going to?'

Ashley shrugged. 'I guess so.'

The Doctor let out a strange, frustrated sound and slapped his knees. 'Act surprised! This is no fun if you don't act surprised!'

Ashley pushed his coat aside and stood up. 'I've just woke up,' she told him, stretching her arms above her head. 'I don't do surprised when I've just woke up.'

The Doctor scrunched up his nose. 'Tell you what you should do; showers.'

Ashley frowned and lowered her arms quickly.

'Come on!' he half whined. 'Act surprised!'

She rolled her eyes and clasped her hands under her chin. She put on her biggest, fakest grin and bounced from side to side. 'Oooh Doctor who's party is it? Please, please, _pleeease_ tell me!'

The Doctor's smile dropped and he straightened up. He half frowned. 'You're being sarcastic.'

Ashley sighed and pinched the top of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. 'Just tell me already.'

The Doctor looked briefly disappointed that she wasn't genuinely excited, but his smile quickly returned. 'We're off to the biggest street party ever.'

Ashley looked curious for the first time. 'Street party?'

'Well… not so much a street party…' The Doctor thought for a moment. 'Anyway, we're going to Ancient Greece, and trust me, the Greeks know how to throw a good party.'

Ashley gave him a sly grin. 'Are we going to a toga party Doctor?'

He frowned briefly. 'A what? Well… I suppose you could wear a toga if you wanted to.' His grin returned. 'So what do you think?'

She mulled it over – well, _pretended_ to mull it over. She loved the idea really. The Doctor was waiting for her reaction apprehensively. She shrugged. 'Meh.'

His eyebrows lowered dramatically. 'What? _Meh_? That's all you've got to say?'

Ashley laughed. 'You're daft sometimes you! Of course I want to go to a bloody Ancient Greek street party!'

The Doctor beamed and then dodged towards the control panel. The Tardis began to hum almost instantly. 'Oh this is going to be _fantastic_!' he cried. 'I _love_ the Greeks!'

Ashley laughed at his excitement as the Tardis began to lurch from left to right. It was a sensation that she would never get used to, and in a way she never wanted to. She wanted to have this mixture of excitement and fear every time the Tardis started moving. There wasn't another feeling like it.

As there was a sudden loud _bang_ and dark smoke billowed up from the control panel, Ashley thought that maybe she could do without the fear part.

'What the hell was that?' she cried, gripping onto the control panel as the Tardis lurched around violently.

The Doctor gripped onto it with one hand, and his legs and free arm seemed to be flailing around everywhere as he tried to control the ship. 'An asteroid!' he cried. 'It came out of nowhere! We're going off course!'

'Off course?' Ashley cried. 'What do you mean, _off course_?'

'Oh, only by a couple of million years!'

Ashley's mouth dropped open, but she didn't have long to look shocked. A shower of sparks flew out of the control panel and she fell back, releasing her grip on the control panel. She hit the floor hard, but the Tardis was moving so much she couldn't get herself back up.

Eventually, after a lot of yelling and cursing on the Doctor's part, the Tardis came to a stop. Ashley lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling, breathing heavily. The Doctor's face suddenly came into her eye line.

'We've stopped.' He reported.

Ashley wanted to tell him she that she saw that, but all that came out of her mouth was a squeak.

'You okay?' he nodded.

The same squeak. He held out a hand to her and she took it, allowing him to haul her to her feet. She rubbed her head and gave herself a moment to gather herself. The Doctor returned to the control panel.

'So… are we in Greece?' Ashley asked, staggering towards him.

'Not exactly…' the Doctor told her, frowning. 'It seems that we are about… um… five hundred fathoms below sea level.' He glanced to her worriedly.

Her eyes widened. 'You what?'

He pushed away from the control panel and strode towards the doors. Ashley watched him for a moment, but her trance was broken as he put his hand on the handle. She hopped towards him, waving her hands.

'Whoa, whoa!' she cried. 'Don't open the door!'

He looked around to her, confused. 'What? Why?'

'You just said we were underwater! It'll all flood in!'

The Doctor rolled his eyes. 'Yeah, just like when I open the door in space we all get sucked out. Now excuse me please.'

Ashley blinked at him, and then stepped aside. The Doctor cast her an amused look and then pulled open the door, poking his head out. Ashley did the same.

The room beyond the door seemed to be some kind of power room, with whirring machinery and small flashing lights. The air was hot and damp. The Doctor stepped out and pushed his hands in his pockets. Ashley remained where she was, gripping onto the side of the Tardis.

'Well,' the Doctor grinned. 'It's been a while since I've been on a submarine.'

Ashley frowned. 'I don't like deep water.' She admitted.

He turned and held his hand out. 'Come on, we'll have a quick gander around before we zoom off, eh? It's not everyday you find yourselves five hundred fathoms down.'

Ashley still looked uncertain, but she stepped out anyway, closing the door behind her. The Doctor took her hand.

'Cheer up,' he smiled. 'What's the worst that could happen?'

Ashley narrowed her eyes at him. 'Now I definitely want to go.'

He only grinned, and lead her towards the door.


	2. Hitchhikers Guide To The Sea

**A/N: If it's not entirely obvious, I HATE deep water. The ocean is just way too creepy... I mean, apparently we know more about space than we do about what's in our own oceans and I'm sorry but I can't help but think of giant tentacly and toothy seamonsters prowling around and ready to pick you off if you wiggle your legs for a little too long in the water... ergh... -shudders-**

**Oooh yes, I remember my important little bit of news... me and Honestgreenpirate have done a little collaboration called _Summer of 64_ featuring both of our OCs, Ashley Chambers and Ella Marlowe... which means there are two Doctors xD There's a link on my profile page: haveabanana. Go on, click on it and read, because we had loads of fun writing it :D First chapter is up now :P**

**And oh joy the story alerts aren't working again. Fabulous ¬.¬**

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**Chapter Two **

**Hitchhiker's Guide to the Sea**

Ashley crept along behind the Doctor, writhing her hands in front of her and looking around warily. The Doctor himself was in high spirits, his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face. He took in every bit of their surroundings, the dirty grey walls, the silvery floor, the rusted bolts holding the pipes in place. He seemed to be enjoying their little walk. Ashley, in short, wasn't.

'How deep did you say we were again?' she asked, eyebrows tilted upwards in concern.

'Five hundred fathoms.' The Doctor told her, not picking up on her worried tone. 'Nine hundred and fourteen point four meters. Three thousand feet. One thousand yards. It's not that deep really. There are birds that come down this far.'

Ashley felt a small amount of reassurance, but not much. 'But… we're still under water. Seawater. On Earth?'

The Doctor cast her a quick glance and shook his head. 'Oh no. We're nowhere near Earth actually. Although to be honest I didn't really have a proper look at exactly _how_ far away we are…'

'How about a year? Can you give me that?'

He shot her an apologetic look and shrugged. 'Sorry.'

Ashley frowned. 'Bloody great tour guide you are.'

'Well I was a bit distracted by the sparks and the smoke.' He replied. He glanced back at her. 'And why do you look so worried anyway? We've been to worse places than this.'

'I don't like being underwater.' Ashley sulked. 'We're not supposed to be underwater. If we were meant to go underwater we would have flippers and gills. There are big things underwater that look at us and think of their stomachs, or they just want to grab your ankle with one squidgy tentacle and pull you down into the blackness so you die of shock before you actually drown.' She shuddered. 'Or they just swim around you and look at you with one, giant, horrible black eye.'

The Doctor had stopped and was looking at her in amusement. 'You know I keep telling you that you watch too many movies? I think you should just get rid of your TV altogether.'

'It's not just in movies.' Ashley snapped. 'There's always stories in the news about people going missing at sea, or getting eaten by sharks. And they pull squids out of the water that are bigger than the Eiffel Tower!'

The Doctor lowered an eyebrow at her.

She sighed. 'Okay, exaggeration, but they're still _big-_'

The sound of a door thumping open pulled both of their attentions away from the conversation and they turned and looked to the newcomer. The man in the doorway stood looking at them both, frozen to the spot. He had hold of his zipper on his trousers from where he had only just pulled it up. There was a magazine tucked under his arm. He was tall and lean; about the same build at the Doctor, just with thinner, curly hair and an older face. His grey-green eyes flicked between the Doctor and Ashley.

'Oh hi,' the Doctor smiled, taking one hand out of his pocket to give the bemused man a quick wave. 'I'm sorry, but we kind of got turned around. Do you think you could tell us where we-'

The man turned and fled, much to their surprise. He was pounding away down the metal corridor at top speed. The Doctor and Ashley glanced at each other, and then followed him quickly.

'Um, excuse me?' the Doctor called after the fleeing man. 'We just want to talk to you!'

'What is it with people running from you?' Ashley asked, jogging behind him. 'I never thought you looked that scary.'

'Maybe it's not me,' the Doctor replied. 'Might be you and that scowl.'

Ashley frowned at the back of his head. Ahead of them there was another thump, and then a click. The Doctor slowed to a trot as they turned the corner and saw the closed door. He clicked his tongue.

'Ah great,' he muttered. 'Locked out.'

Ashley stood back as he approached the door. She expected him to get the sonic screwdriver out, but instead he only knocked lightly on the metal.

'Um, hello?' he called through the door. 'Yes, um, I'm sorry if we startled you, but we kind of got turned around. We'd just like to know where we are if you wouldn't mind telling us. We're not hijackers or anything if that's what you're thinking…'

Hushed voices sounded on the other side. It sounded like there were two men and one woman – and the woman didn't sound particularly happy. A moment later and there was a click, and the door opened. The woman on the other side looked at the Doctor and Ashley suspiciously. She was quite short, no taller than about five foot four, with thick, wavy blonde hair and quite a stout build. She was dressed in beige coveralls and thin-rimmed glasses were perched on the end of her nose. The Doctor beamed at her, and wiggled his fingers in greeting. Ashley managed a smaller smile.

'We were just wondering-' the Doctor started.

'What the hell are you doing on my sub?' the short woman demanded with a scowl.

Both of them were taken aback by her tone. The Doctor must have been taken completely off guard, because for once he had nothing to say.

The woman eyed them for a moment longer and then sighed. 'Are you hitchhikers?'

The Doctor nodded and smiled. 'Yes, we are. Very sorry about that. But… well we were in a bit of a hurry. Didn't really check the uh… destination.' Ashley shot him an annoyed glance but kept quiet.

'Well there's not much we can do about it now,' the woman sighed heavily, turning and heading back into the room. 'Can't exactly chuck you out at five and a half thousand fathoms.'

Ashley's eyes widened and she looked to the Doctor. 'You said five _hundred_!' she hissed.

The Doctor winced. 'I must have missed a five…'

'Come in here then.' The woman barked at them. 'Sit down so we can keep an eye on you. The last thing we need is for two hitchhikers to start prodding at the machinery and sinking the sub.'

The Doctor and Ashley walked into the room, glancing around. It must have been the control room as there were levers and buttons and whirring machinery all over. At the far side of the room there was a large, floor to ceiling window, looking out at inky blackness. Ashley's step faltered with the sight.

'I suppose I have to apologise for Jackman's reaction to you,' the woman said in a bored tone as she sat down. The tall man who had run from them glanced away in embarrassment. 'He had a bad experience with hitchhikers one time.'

The Doctor nodded and smiled at him. 'It's okay. Sorry if we scared you.'

There was another man tucked away amongst a mass of wires and machinery who was also looking at the two newcomers warily. He was younger than the other two, with floppy mousy hair, big brown eyes and unnaturally pale skin. The woman didn't bother to introduce him, and he didn't bother to introduce himself either. He only turned back to his machines and began typing away at a keyboard in short, rapid bursts.

'I'm Kimi Ellis.' The blonde woman told them. 'I'm in charge around here. I'll let you stay aboard until we've finished up here – mainly because I've got no choice in the matter, but if you don't do as you're told then I won't hesitate to lock you up in storage until we get back. Understood?'

Ashley sat down on a seat nearby. She wasn't really listening. She was staring out at the blackness of the ocean and unable to shake the fact that they were at the depth where most of the giant, freaky sea creatures lived. The ones that liked to eat you.

'Perfectly,' the Doctor beamed at Kimi Ellis as he peered at some of the screens. 'But I'd like to know where abouts we are. Because, like I said, we were in a hurry and forgot to check where you were headed. Plus, I'm nosey.'

Kimi turned back to her screen, uninterested. 'I'm sorry, but only the crew and members of the salvage team are allowed to know the details of our voyage. Now if you don't mind I asked you to sit down.'

The Doctor leaned on the back of her chair and grinned at her. She looked at him with a slight grimace. The other two men watched apprehensively as the Doctor reached into his pocket. He flipped open the psychic paper, and winked.


	3. The Incident

**A/N: Oh hell I have no idea how I managed to write this chapter. I'm soooooo hungover. Drinking blue WKD with vodka in it at five in the morning is not a good thing to do :( Don't drink. Drinking's bad. Very very bad :(**

**Oh, and don't forget to check out Summer of 64 - click on haveabanana on my profile page. Ashley's chapter's up now :D**

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**Chapter Three **

**The Incident**

Ashley was still staring out at the dark ocean when the tall thin man, Mr Jackman, held a cup of tea out to her. She jumped, looked up at him, and then took the cup with a small smile.

'Thanks.' She said.

He only blinked lazily at her before heading back to his seat. Ashley watched him and was able to relate with him being so miserable. If she were working in a place as depressing as this sub she would rarely smile either. In all honesty, she would probably be hiding under a table somewhere and rambling about sea monsters. Her fear of the deep was very real. However every time she mentioned this to the Doctor, he kind of ignored her.

The Doctor stood in front of the huge window, his hands clasped behind his back as if he was admiring a famous painting. Kimi Ellis was watching him curiously, as she had been ever since he had waved the psychic paper in her face.

'So… this is just a test, right?' Kimi enquired, narrowing one eye. 'You're here to check up on us.'

'Yup.' The Doctor replied, loudly popping the 'p'.

Kimi only looked more puzzled by this. 'Why?'

The Doctor turned around to look at her. By his grin Ashley could tell he was enjoying himself. She just wished he would hurry up and finish his little game so they could leave.

'To make sure you all know what you're doing of course.' He beamed. 'Because it would turn out to look rather bad on our part if you lot were floating around down here without knowing _why_ you were here.'

Kimi half frowned, mostly in confusion. 'Well of _course_ we know why we're here…'

'Okay,' the Doctor nodded. 'Why are you here?'

Jackman shifted uncomfortably in his seat, but didn't raise his eyes from the screen in front of him. The pale man in the corner cleared his throat and averted his gaze. Kimi's suspicion was roused by the Doctor's forwardness.

'I don't understand why-'

'Just answer the question, Miss Ellis.' The Doctor told her. Ashley cocked an eyebrow. He really was enjoying himself.

'It's _Mrs_ Ellis.' Kimi corrected.

'Oh, sorry. Of course.' The Doctor nodded. 'So, _Mrs_ Ellis, why are you here?'

She looked him over thoughtfully before leaning back in her seat. It gave a strained _creak_ as she did so. 'We're here about the… the Incident.'

The Doctor half nodded. 'What incident?'

Kimi cast a quick look towards Mr Jackman and the other man. 'If you work for the company then you'll know what the incident was.'

'Imagine I don't. Imagine I don't know anything about any incident. Explain from the start.' The Doctor leaned against the window and crossed his arms.

Kimi sighed. 'Okay, if you say so.' The chair creaked again as she shifted her weight. 'Two days ago we lost contact with Project Home. Yesterday every single person who volunteered for the Project either killed each other or were killed in the sinking. We're here to figure out what happened.'

The Doctor nodded. 'What's Project Home?'

Kimi narrowed her eyes. 'Can I see your ID again?'

'Project Home is a bloody stupid idea.' Jackman piped up from behind her. Ashley was quite surprised to discover that he was Welsh. 'It's obvious this planet wasn't suitable for human life. There's no bloody land for Christ's sake.'

'Jackman!' Kimi hissed.

'He's right.' The man in the corner nodded. 'And you think so too Mrs Ellis. You said.'

Kimi snorted and turned back to the Doctor. 'Project Home is… _was_ a test. As you very well know the human race are expanding as ever and we're looking for new soil, so to speak. We've had floating towns for a long time now. The designs were based on those lily pad things – I don't know what they're bloody called,' She waved a hand dismissively as the unimportant information passed her by. 'But this was the first floating _city_. The concept is perfect really. The city is self-reliant. Solar powered, grows its own food, and has a good water recycling system. It provides cheap housing.'

'You said this planet has no land.' The Doctor commented.

Kimi clicked her tongue. 'It hasn't. Actually, this planet has absolutely no life. Nothing under the ocean, nothing above it. The air is absolutely perfect to support life though. In fact, it's got almost exactly the same atmosphere as Earth. Hence it being dubbed Earth 0.3.'

'Pretty unoriginal if you ask me.' Jackman muttered, jabbing at the keyboard in front of him randomly.

'Shut up Jackman.' Kimi sighed. 'No one's asking you.'

'So… this planet has no life. Not even a little fishy under the water,' Ashley frowned. 'But you thought it would be okay to stick a bunch of people here. Did the fact that there was no life here not ring any alarm bells?'

'There're hundreds of planets like this one.' Kimi told her. 'Planets that have either not gotten around to having their own life or have just recently finished up that stage. We're not about to let a planet go to waste are we?'

The Doctor seemed engrossed now. His grin had gone and he had that vague frown that meant his brain was working at top speed. 'How many people were involved in Project Home?'

'There were 100,000 volunteers.' Kimi said with a slight sigh, as if the subject bored her. 'Two days ago we got a report through of a murder on the city. A scientist had apparently gone postal and killed five people. Including two children. They restrained him and then had him ready to be shipped back to us so he could be imprisoned, but before they finished strapping him up all Holy Hell broke loose. We started getting reports through in dribs and drabs of people losing it and killing each other. About sixteen hours after that we lost contact totally. Then a huge fire started out on the west side of the city and spread quickly. Five hours after that and Project Home was completely submerged. No survivors.'

Ashley set her tea down with a slight grimace. Her face had gone a little pale. The Doctor's eyes were slightly narrowed in thought. 'And you don't know what caused the outbursts.' He said. 'Cabin fever maybe?'

'Nope.' Kimi replied. 'It wasn't just the volunteers that were affected. Five of the men who were working on the construction of Project Home came down with it. They were delusional. Psychotic. There was no reasoning whatsoever. They were restrained and had been examined but there's still nothing to explain their actions. One of them is okay now. It just kind of… passed.'

'And there was nothing in the blood stream?' the Doctor asked. 'No abnormalities?'

'All they had was quite a heightened level of adrenaline. But taking that they were thrashing around like madmen then that can be expected.'

A silence reigned over them. The Doctor had turned and was now looking out the window thoughtfully. The lights of cast an eerie glow over the inky blackness. Just the slightest hints of rock could be seen below them.

'And you're sure there's no life on this planet?' he asked.

'Positive.' Kimi nodded.

Ashley gritted her teeth. She was feeling quite sick now. She got to her feet clumsily and pointed to the door with her thumb when the Doctor looked around to her. 'I'm just… going to go to the bathroom.' She muttered, and moved out of the room.

The Doctor watched her go, and then turned back to the window. 'Mysterious. Very mysterious.' He commented. He glanced over his shoulder to Kimi and offered her a wink. 'And I love a good mystery me.'


	4. Drip

**Chapter Four **

**Drip**

The tap squeaked as Ashley turned it on and the water flooded out. She looked at it for a few moments, gripping either sides of the sink, before cupping her hands and catching the water. She splashed her face, gasping at the coldness but instantly feeling a lot better. She closed her eyes, and let out a long slow breath.

_Now really_, she thought bitterly. _You've whizzed through time and space in a spaceship and you get freaked out from being under water._

'Soft.' She muttered, turning off the tap. She glanced up at the grimy mirror and took in her reflection. She was still pale and the little bit of mascara she had been wearing was now smudged around her eyes. She didn't wear much makeup these days. There was no point really, unless she was planning on meeting the man of her dreams on some distant planet. After the fiasco with Gordon the Shape Shifter, she didn't really want _that_ kind of attention from anyone. She used her fingers to wipe away the black smudges, and then examined her pale, makeup free face. She had lost more weight. Wasn't a good thing really because she didn't really have much weight to lose in the first place. That was peculiar, as she had done nothing but eat the past few days. At least she thought it was days… It was hard to judge time in a time machine. She put it down to all that running. Hell of course it was the running. She was in better shape than she had even been in her life.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

Ashley looked around and grabbed a nearby towel. She sniffed it and grimaced at the damp smell, but it was the only towel there. She hesitated and dropped it back on the rail, opting to dry her face with her t-shirt instead. She looked in the mirror again and sighed.

'Look at you Ashley Chambers,' she muttered. 'Travelling through space. And Auntie Bella was trying to get you to work in the chip shop.'

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

Ashley went to turn off the dripping tap, but her hand stopped above it when she realised that it wasn't the tap that was dripping. A drop of water hit the back of her hand.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

She looked up and narrowed her eyes. There were no cracks in the ceiling, but there was a wet patch there. It was dripping continuously. Steady and monotonous.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

Just condensation she assumed. She looked at her reflection again. She knew they weren't going to be leaving any time soon now. The Doctor had a new, albeit grim, mystery to solve and they wouldn't be going until he figured out what happened to Project Home. Ashley couldn't understand why anyone in the right mind would want to live on a city that floated on the ocean. Humans aren't supposed to go in water.

She flinched and blinked as water dripped on her nose. She frowned as she wiped it away, and then looked up at the wet patch. Another drip landed in her eye.

'Damn it!' she muttered, blinking at the brief sting. She wiped her eye with the heel of her palm, cursing the stupid dripping water. She checked it in the mirror to see it was all bloodshot and she muttered another curse. She ambled out of the bathroom, still prodding at her eye.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

Ashley was surprised to find the Doctor outside of the bathroom, peering out of one of the round portholes at the surrounding ocean. He didn't look around to her as she joined his side and looked out also.

'See any sea monsters?' he asked.

'Don't.' Ashley warned. 'It's not funny.'

He smiled at her. 'It's okay. You heard what Mrs Ellis said. There's no life in the ocean. Well, they're probably wrong because human's are wrong about eighty per cent of the time anyway.'

'If you were trying to reassure me, saying that didn't help.'

The Doctor draped an arm around her shoulders. 'We'll go soon, I promise. We're coming up on the wreckage of the city now. We'll just stick around, see if we can figure out what happened here, and then off we'll pop.'

Ashley glanced up at him. 'If they haven't figured it out in an hour, I'm going to sit in the Tardis.'

The Doctor shrugged. 'You can go and sit in the Tardis now if you like.'

She mulled it over. 'On second thoughts no.' she replied. 'If the sub sinks or something and you drown I don't want to be trapped in a Tardis at the bottom of an alien ocean with no idea how to fly it.' She paused. 'But then again you could always-'

'Forget it.' The Doctor replied, already knowing what she was going to say. 'I'm not teaching you how to fly the Tardis.'

She smirked at him. 'You're only scared that I'll do a better job than you.'

'Course I am.' He grinned. He looked back out the porthole and then pointed suddenly. 'Oh! Can you see that? Look, right there.'

He put Ashley in front of him, holding her shoulders and put his cheek by hers as they peered out. He pointed with his finger. Ashley followed, and gasped at the blank face that stared up at them from the depths. It took her a moment to realise that it was actually a statue. A _big_ statue. The sub moved slowly towards it, and the lights spread over the stone face eerily.

'Kinda looks like the Statue of Liberty.' Ashley commented.

'Probably a copy,' the Doctor nodded. 'Pops up all over the place after the original was destroyed.'

'The original was destroyed? How?'

'Ah, well that's a long story. It involved a few tetchy Guilliders and a badly placed bomb.'

Ashley laughed. 'Trust it to be you.'

They watched as the statue came more into view. It lay amongst rubble and rocks. Its left arm had snapped at the elbow and lay off to one side protruding from the remains of some buildings.

'God damn you you damned dirty fishies!' Ashley cried dramatically, curling up one fist.

The Doctor laughed behind her as he moved away. 'Too many movies. I'm not letting you watch TV again.'

Ashley turned and smiled at him. 'Don't think I didn't see that big TV you've got. Next time you stop to fix something I'm going to be on it.'

He smiled and glanced down the corridor towards the control room where the other three people were. 'Well we'll go and see if they're picking anything up.' He said, heading away. 'You coming?'

'Yeah.' Ashley nodded. 'I'm going to ask if they can do anything about that bloody dripping. It's driving me up the wall.'

The Doctor glanced back at her briefly. 'I don't hear any dripping.' He said distractedly.

Ashley half frowned and cocked her ear at the monotonous dripping that hadn't ceased since leaving the bathroom. A brief shudder ran through her. She shook her head, decided that it must just be her ears with the pressure, and followed the Doctor.

_Drip. Drip. Drip_.


	5. On The Outside

**A/N: Okay... well this story is telling me that I'm a closet loon o.O I think it's probably one of the darkest things I've written. Obviously there are darker Doctor Who stories about than this one but... I don't normally do dark. As you've probably read it's normally just sillyness with the odd dramatic moments. I hope people still enjoy it though. Even if it is coming from my inner crazy lol!**

* * *

**Chapter Five **

**On the Outside**

The Doctor clapped his hands, making everyone in the room jump a little. 'Right then.' He said loudly. 'Let's see what we can find down there, eh?'

Kimi looked at her screen with a sigh. 'I appreciate your interest… Doctor, was it?' She didn't wait for the confirmation. 'But we've got a plan on how this is going to work out, so I'd be grateful if you could just step aside and let us do our jobs.'

The Doctor looked at her for a moment, disillusioned. 'Oh. Right. Sorry.' He pushed his hands in his pockets. 'But you're still going to tell me every single little detail of what you find, aren't you?'

Kimi typed something into her computer. 'Go sit with Randall.' She told him, nodding to the man in the corner. 'You can watch his screen.'

The Doctor grinned at Randall, but the man only looked intimidated. He shrank down as the Doctor approached and dropped onto a chair beside him. 'Hello, Randall.' He beamed. 'How are you?'

Randall just blinked at him like a rabbit in the headlights. The Doctor's smile faltered.

'Tell you what, Randy,' he said. 'How about you just tell me what you've got on your screen here, eh?'

Randall looked towards his screen like he had forgotten it was there. After a moment he managed to pull himself together and started to point out and explain various pieces on the screen. The other two, Kimi and Jackman, were typing away on their computers.

Ashley sat by the door, looking out of the large window at the ruins that glowed eerily beyond the sub. There were shells of cars, crumbled buildings. Some houses were still practically in tact. There was something unsettlingly surreal about seeing a whole street under water. It made Ashley's stomach turn over slightly. She realised she was gritting her teeth and tried to relax. Then she looked down to see that her hands were gripping the arms of the chair so tightly that the ends of her fingers had turned white. She let go and rubbed them together. She took a breath to try and calm herself down.

_Drip. Drip. Drip_.

Her hands were shaking. Not just a little, but like she had them rested on top of an out of control washing machine. She curled them up into fists and tucked them by her sides. Christ what was wrong with her? Fair enough she didn't like the ocean but she hadn't expected herself to react like this. She was with the Doctor, and as long as she was with the Doctor she was perfectly safe. He had brought her here and he could just as easily take her away again. He said himself, no he _promised_ that they were going to go soon.

Then why did she get an uneasy feeling every time she looked at him?

She hardly knew him.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

He was a complete stranger.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

She suddenly found being in the control room to be quite unbearable and she quickly got up and headed out, having to restrain herself to not break into a run. As soon as the door closed behind her though she allowed herself to run down the corridor, her heart thudding. She stopped at the porthole she and the Doctor had been looking out only a few minutes before and she leaned her forehead against the cool glass. She closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

Everything was fine. She was safe. Just a little longer and they could go. She could go and sit in the Tardis maybe? Have herself a cup of tea and go and try out that huge TV she had spotted in one of its many rooms. As soon as the movie had finished the Doctor would be back and they could leave this awful, awful place.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

Weirdly, that strange uneasy feeling returned at the thought of the Tardis. She closed her eyes tighter and gritted her teeth.

'Stop freaking out stop freaking out stop freaking out…' She didn't realise she was muttering at first, and managed to stop herself.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

She opened her eyes at the tap and stumbled backwards with a gasp. Two bloodshot eyes surrounded by pale fleshy skin stared at her from the other side of the porthole. The woman's skin was cut and burned in places. Her hair moved majestically around her blue puffy face. Her hand reached up, most of it burned away.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

Ashley let out a moan and stumbled back further until she hit the wall. She kicked something and it clattered to the floor, making her let out a yelp.

'Are you okay?'

Another yelp escaped her involuntarily. She looked around to see Kimi Ellis standing in the corridor, eyeing her warily. Ashley blinked at her, and then looked to the porthole, which now showed nothing but inky black ocean. Kimi followed her gaze and then tentatively approached.

'What's wrong?' she asked.

Ashley swallowed and found that her mouth and throat was very dry. 'I uh… I thought I saw…' She ran her tongue over her lips. 'I must have been imagining…'

Kimi stepped in front of her. 'Can you hold you hands out for me please?'

Ashley looked at her with wide eyes. 'What?'

'Your hands. I'd like to see them.'

Ashley sucked in a short, wavering breath and held out her hands. They shook uncontrollably. Kimi bit her lip. Ashley watched her reaction and suddenly that uneasy feeling returned. A lot stronger. She didn't know who this woman was.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

She was a complete stranger.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

And yet she was standing close.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

Far too close.

_Dripdripdripdrip._

Ashley sharply tried to back up but only succeeded in kicking the bucket again. Kimi took a tentative step back and eyed her. 'It's okay.' She said softly. 'Look, I'm going to tell you this straight. You're exhibiting same symptoms that some of the men came down with who worked on Project Home. I'd like to get you down the sickbay if that's okay with you. Trust me, it's for your own good.'

Ashley licked her lips again and glanced in the direction of the control room. 'What about... uh…'

'I can get your friend to come too if you like.'

'No.' She said it sharper than she had intended. 'No. I… Yes I'll come to sickbay. On my own.'

Kimi nodded and moved back again. She held her hand out. 'This way.'

Ashley looked the woman up and down and then headed down in the direction the woman pointed. This strange woman. This strange woman she didn't even know.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

She bit the inside of her mouth, and soon tasted blood.


	6. The Worst Damn Thing

**A/N: Okay it's starting now :o It's safe to say that the Ashley Chambers you've all come to know will not be the same anymore. Which is sad :( But has to happen :p Reviews are mucho appreciado cos I'd like to see how this is being received. I'm putting more of an effort into my writing than I've done before. Not that I haven't put any effort in before... okay I'm rambling. I'll stop lol. **

* * *

**Chapter Six **

**The Worst Damn Thing**

Randall typed in his computer with his shoulders hunched. The Doctor watched but decided that all he was typing was co-ordinates and other not so interesting things. Jackman was also working vigorously and silently. The Doctor was aching for some form of conversation but it seemed unlikely that he was going to get it from either of these. Kimi had been reasonably chatty, if not a little rude, but she seemed to have wandered off somewhere. So had Ashley apparently. The Doctor guessed she had finally just gone back to the Tardis, which was probably for the best.

'So… what exactly are you doing?' the Doctor asked, leaning forward to see Randall's screen.

Randall instinctively leaned closer to his screen. 'Uh… well, at the minute I'm just plotting where abouts we are. Depth, that kind of thing. Then I suppose we have to do a scan to see how many bodies are actually stuck down here…' He paled a little more, if that was even possible. 'But there should be 100,000. If there's less than that… well… it's going to get complicated.'

'Complicated how?' the Doctor asked.

'Let's just say there'll probably be a big hunt for the missing people.' Jackman sighed heavily. 'They'll be dangerous. _Very_ dangerous.'

The Doctor rotated his chair, which creaked painfully, so he was facing Jackman. 'How dangerous?'

Jackman stopped typing and turned his own chair around so he was facing the Doctor. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. He waved it once. 'Do you mind?'

The Doctor shook his head. If this man wanted to wreck his insides, it wasn't his problem.

Jackman lit the cigarette and took a long draw. 'One of the fellas who was working on construction of Project Home is my brother-in-law Micah. Nice guy. Healthy, good nature, wouldn't hurt a fly all that crap. He comes back after construction finishes and he starts acting really tetchy. Jumpy. Doesn't like people getting too close to him. He suddenly has this look in his eye, you know? Like… like he's looking at you like you're a stranger. He started getting really quiet. Then one night I went around to see him and he wouldn't let me in. Said he wouldn't let me in until I got all those people behind me to go away. No one was behind me though. Then I heard Pearl – that's my sister – I heard her shouting from upstairs. I tried to get past him, but Micah's bigger than me. Knocked me down with a shove. Slammed the door. So I called the police.'

By now Jackman's hand was trembling, the smoke making quivering waves in the air. The control room was silent, apart from Jackman's low voice. Randall's hands had frozen on the keyboard and he was listening with horrified awe. The Doctor sat silently; hands clasped over one knee, a small crease between his eyebrows. Jackman took a few moments to regroup. They allowed him to.

'By the time they got there Pearl was dead. Micah was in the bathroom. He'd smashed up everything in there; the sink, the bath, the shower, the toilet – he was soaked. Took seven officers to restrain him. They dragged him out and he was just screaming. _Screaming_ this horrible scream.' Jackman paused again to run a hand over his forehead. 'When they got him in the station and asked him why he killed Pearl, he just said that he only saw her on the evenings when he finished work. That he hardly knew her. He said she had hired some guy to kill him so she could take his life insurance, which was complete _crap_ because Micah didn't even _have_ any life insurance. Then they asked him about the bathroom. 'Why did you trash the bathroom?' they asked. 'Because of the dripping,' he said.'

The Doctor narrowed his eyes slightly. 'Where's Micah now?'

'Psychiatric hospital.' Jackman replied, taking a big drag on his cigarette. 'Although I think they're going to move him pretty soon after all this carry on here. They didn't think it was linked at first. Thought Micah had just snapped.' He dropped his cigarette in his coffee and it hissed as it was extinguished. 'Funny thing is though, he's fine now. Back to normal. Of course he's absolutely distraught about Pearl. He says he has no idea why he did it and he wants to stay in the hospital to find out why.' Jackman paused and flicked some ash from his knee. 'I don't blame him. I blame this place. It's why I'm here. I want to find out why my sister was killed.'

The Doctor nodded in understanding. 'And I'm sure you will.' He said gently.

Jackman made a low grunting sound, and then turned back to his computer. 'We're all keeping a close eye on each other. Watching for the symptoms. I suggest you keep an eye on your girl. Starts off with shakes. Then they get jumpy. Then they hallucinate. Happens quickly.'

The Doctor frowned deeply, suddenly remembering something that Ashley had said the last time they had spoke. _I'm going to ask if they can do anything about that bloody dripping. It's driving me up the wall._

_Driving me up the wall._

He stood up quickly, drawing alarmed looks from the other two men. 'Where did Kimi go?' he demanded.

Jackman shrugged. 'For a pee probably. I don't know.'

The Doctor moved towards the door quickly. Encouraged by the urgency of his movements, Jackman and Randall stood up also.

'What is it?' Jackman asked, frowning.

The Doctor turned around. 'I really hope it's just coincidence, but if it's not we have a serious problem.'

'What kind of problem?' Randall asked worriedly.

'I think Ashley might have come into contact with whatever is causing this.' The Doctor explained. 'She mentioned something about dripping.'

'Might have just been condensation.' Randall murmured.

'Do you really want to risk that?' the Doctor asked.

Randall and Jackman looked at each other. 'She's probably with Kimi.' Jackman said. 'Kimi has a nose for this kind of thing. She's been watching real closely for any symptoms in any of us. If your friend is showing them then she probably took her to sickbay.'

'Where's sickbay?' the Doctor asked.

'I'll show you.' Jackman nodded.

The Doctor stepped aside for him to lead the way, but before they got out the door a buzzing sounded. The Doctor glanced around. Jackman moved back to his desk and picked up a phone receiver that had been hidden amongst the junk.

'Kimi?' he said automatically.

The Doctor moved over and took the phone from him. 'Mrs Ellis? Where are you? Are you with Ashley?'

'Yes,' Kimi replied, her voice slightly hushed. 'I have her in sickbay. She's in a bit of a state to be honest. She's jumpy and her hands are shaking like mad. I think she's been hallucinating too, but she won't admit it. I'm going to do a blood test, try and keep her calm. She seems to have relaxed a little.'

'Mrs Ellis, listen to me,' the Doctor said, his hearts starting to beat a little faster. 'If she has got this then you need to quarantine her. You can't be with her if she snaps, okay? If Ashley has a violent outburst… She needs to be in an empty room. Do you understand me? A room with nothing in it. Not even a chair. If there's anything even remotely flammable-'

'Flammable?' Kimi half laughed. 'Now come on Doctor, these people just exhibit primal violence, not superpowers. If she shows any signs of violence I'll put her in a holding room, sure, but I don't think it's that big a deal-'

'You listen to me right now, Mrs Ellis,' the Doctor said with more urgency. 'She _will_ use primal violence, just not the primal violence you're thinking of. Trust me, she needs to be on her own until whatever this is passes through her system. I'm serious, Kimi. This will get bad, and fast.'

There was silence on the other end of the phone. The Doctor swallowed. Jackman and Randal were watching him with wide eyes.

'Mrs Ellis?' the Doctor asked.

Silence. The Doctor took in a shaky breath and went to repeat the name, but there was a sudden ear-piercing scream from the other end. The Doctor dropped the phone and turned to the other men.

'Sickbay!' he yelled. '_Right now_!'

Jackman stumbled back in surprise, but quickly whirled around and ran down the corridor. The Doctor sprinted after him, hoping that this was all just a coincidence, and that when they got to the sickbay everything would be just fine.


	7. Burn

**Chapter Seven **

**Burn**

'Just in here,' Kimi said, stepping aside and gesturing through the doorway. Ashley eyed her uncertainly, and then slipped quickly through the door as if it would have slammed shut on her if she had moved too slowly. She walked to the centre of the room, hands writhing in front of her.

'What now then?' she asked, her voice coming out quicker and higher than she had intended. There was a light scraping sound to her left and she snapped her head around to it with a jump. There was a door on the other side of the room with a red cross painted on it. She narrowed her eyes briefly.

'If you'd just like to sit down,' Kimi told her. 'I just want to have a quick look at you. Try and relax.'

Ashley glanced around to a white seat that looked kind of like a dentist chair, just a bit smaller. She hesitated and looked warily at Kimi.

'Go ahead.' The woman said softly. 'It's perfectly safe.'

Ashley knew that. Or she knew that was what Kimi wanted to her to think. She wasn't sure what she was thinking… she couldn't seem to grasp onto any of her thoughts. She moved towards the chair and sat down slowly. She watched as Kimi moved to the sink and washed her hands. She wondered why she had to wash her hands. She said she was just going to check her over. Look in her eyes, check her heart rate – that kind of thing. Why would she have to wash her hands to do something like that?

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

Ashley looked around to the door with the red cross on it. She heard the shuffle again. It sounded like someone moving. Was someone behind the door? She looked back to Kimi and frowned vaguely. Did she know?

_Dripdripdrip._

'If it's okay with you I'd like to take a blood sample.' Kimi's voice cut through her thoughts like a blade. 'If you are coming down with the same thing as the others we need to see if it's a virus or something in your system. I promise you it will be quick.'

Ashley swallowed. It felt like she had a golf ball in her throat. 'Then what if I… If I am…' She couldn't straighten her thoughts out to even form a proper sentence. She heard the shuffle again and looked around. 'What's on the other side of that door?'

Kimi glanced towards the door with the red cross on it. 'Medical supplies.' She replied. 'Why?'

Ashley blinked at the door. 'I… No reason.'

Kimi reached out and took her hand. Upon contact, Ashley drew in a sharp breath and snatched her hand back. Kimi froze and looked at her warily. Ashley looked back, equally as wary. She couldn't let this woman check her over.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

She didn't even know her.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

She was a complete stranger.

_Shuffle._

And a liar.

Ashley jumped off the chair and backed away a couple of steps. 'I need to go to the toilet. Is there a toilet in here?'

Kimi eyed her and then nodded to the right. 'Just through there.' She said.

Ashley moved towards the door, her head slightly lowered. She moved through the door and closed it behind her. Leaning against it, she looked around the room. It was small and dim. A little too small for her liking. She moved to the sink and rested her hands on either side, her heart pounding in her chest. She kept her eyes closed tightly.

'Calm down,' she muttered to herself.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

'Tell the Doctor and we can leave. He'll understand.'

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

'Or he'll pretend to understand.'

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

'He won't understand.'

_Dripdripdripdripdripdrip_-

'_Stop dripping!_' She yelled so suddenly that her voice hit a high point. She rubbed her face with both hands and released a weak, wavering sigh. 'What's happening to me?' she murmured.

She opened her eyes and looked at the mirror. Then let out a sharp cry at the sight of Kimi Ellis in the reflection, standing behind her with a long, glinting needle. Ashley whirled around, arms up, so be greeted with nothing. She stared around the empty room, chest heaving, and looked back to the mirror. Only her. No one else. No Kimi. No one.

Then she heard a voice.

Ashley turned back to the door and approached it slowly. She listened. It was Kimi. She was talking to someone.

That _liar_! There weren't medical supplies in that cupboard! There was someone in there! Someone that had come out when Ashley had left. She strained to listen, but she could barely hear what Kimi was saying.

Wait… did she just say holding room? Did she just say she was going to lock her up?

_Dripdripdripdripdrip_

She did. She definitely said that. Holding room. Where had she heard that before? Holding room… holding room… Holding _bay_. They called it the holding bay at the BLFC. Where that man had nearly killed her. That man Crowe. She was talking to _him_, she was damned sure of it.

So that was what was going on. Kimi wasn't going to take her blood, she was going to knock her out. Knock her out and throw her into a cell and then Crowe was going to come and…

Ashley was out of the door before she had even realised she had put her hand on the handle. She was moving quickly towards Kimi. It didn't occur to her that Kimi was on her own, that she was actually on the _phone_ and not talking to Timothy Crowe at all. It also didn't register that the door with the red cross on it was standing open and that there was no room inside for anyone to hide. She didn't need to take in any of these factors. She knew she was right.

Kimi Ellis looked around at Ashley approaching and her jaw dropped. She lowered the phone and pressed it to her chest, covering the speaker.

'Ashley,' she said, raising one hand. 'Ashley it's okay. Calm down. I've just been talking to your friend. He's going to come down and see if you're okay, right? Everything is going to be-'

Ashley ignored her and pressed her hand against the side of Kimi Ellis' face. The heat was unbearable on her palm and the screaming rang around in her head. The phone clattered to the floor. Ashley let out a pained cry and snatched her hand back. Kimi dropped to her knees, dark smoke lifting from the blistered handprint on her face. Clutching her own burnt hand, Ashley ran out of the door. Kimi was wailing in agony, but Ashley tuned it out.

_Better her than me_.

_Dripdripdripdripdrip._


	8. The Heat Is On

**Chapter Eight **

**The Heat Is On**

Jackman had lead most of the way towards the sickbay, but as soon as Kimi Ellis' wails of agony reached them the Doctor overtook and sprinted down the corridor. He swung around the doorframe so quickly he nearly fell. He looked around the room with wide eyes. His gaze fell upon Kimi and he froze.

Jackman and Randall pushed past him and rushed towards their colleague. They picked her up, trying to assure her that she was fine as they moved her to the chair, but she continued to wail. The burn on her cheek was black and blistered in a handprint shape. Her eye was swollen shut. Some of her hair had burned away. She was shaking all over.

'Christ how did this happen?' Randall whined, trembling almost as much as Kimi.

The Doctor couldn't speak. He just stared. This couldn't be happening. Not now.

'Randall get a cloth and soak it in cold water.' Jackman ordered. 'Get a blanket too.'

Randall only stood and stared at the burns. Jackman reached over her shuddering body and slapped Randall around the face. Randall flinched and looked at him in shock.

'_Wet cloth!_' Jackman yelled in his face.

Randall jumped and ran towards the bathroom. Jackman put his hands on Kimi's shoulders and leaned a little closer to her. 'Kimi? Can you hear me? You're going to be fine, okay? We're here.' Kimi only blinked lazily with her one good eye. Her wails had ceased. She looked on the verge of passing out.

The Doctor ran one hand through his hair. 'Oh my…'

Jackman whirled around at the sound of his voice. 'How did she do this?' he demanded. 'How did she burn her face like that? We don't have chemicals on this sub that can do that kind of damage.'

'I…' the Doctor only shook his head.

Jackman moved towards him quickly, his top lip curled back. He shoved the Doctor hard in the middle of his chest causing him to stumble back. 'You brought her on this sub knowing full well that she was _dangerous_! You _knew_ and you let her go off on her own! This is _your_ fault!' He prodded the Doctor in the middle of his chest. 'If anything happens to Kimi, it's on your head.'

The Doctor managed to regroup and pushed Jackman's hand away. 'Don't get hysterical.' He warned, despite the fact he felt on the verge of hysteria himself. 'The last thing we need is to turn on each other. We need to find her.'

Jackman grimaced. '_You_ need to find her.'

'Uh… Jackman? What do I do…'

Jackman turned around to see Randall standing by Kimi with a dripping cloth in one hand and a blanket in the other. Jackman released a snort and moved towards him, snatching the cloth and pushing him back. He rang it out and pressed it gently on Kimi's burnt face. Kimi's body twitched, but she was now unconscious. Randall, still shaking, covered her with the blanket.

'We need to go and find her.' The Doctor repeated, louder and with more authority.

Jackman shot him an annoyed look. 'You can go and look for her. Kimi needs medical attention.'

The Doctor moved forward. 'If Ashley has been contaminated, then I strongly suggest that we find her before she does something to endanger all of our lives. May I remind you that it only takes a few broken pipes to cut off the air recycle system.'

Jackman's anger waned and a worried look crossed his face. He looked back to Kimi, and then to Randall. 'Randall keep putting the compress on the burn.' He said after a moment. 'It's to cool the area down. Not too much because you'll drop her body heat. Make her temperature says normal. Cover the burn up with dry bandages, right? None of that fluffy crap. Stay with her. Lock the door.'

Randall swallowed and nodded. 'Y… yeah sure.'

Jackman turned around to look at the Doctor. 'You won't be able to talk her down. She won't listen to you.'

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. 'She'll listen to me.'

Jackman's top lip curled back again. 'You just don't get it do you? She's lost it completely. The main and most dangerous symptom is paranoia. Micah knew Pearl for twenty-five years – they never argued a day in their lives and he killed her out of mistrust. Can I ask how long you've known her Doctor?'

The Doctor looked back at him and said nothing.

Jackman half nodded. 'I thought so. So I hope you have another plan up your sleeve that's not _reasoning_.' He stormed off towards a cupboard and hauled it open. He reached in and emerged with a gun.

'No,' the Doctor said loudly. 'No way. You're not bringing that.'

Jackman turned and scowled. 'You think I'm going to come unarmed, Doctor? Did you see what she did to Kimi? If you can't calm her down, then there's only one other option.' The Doctor started to argue, but Jackman spoke over him. 'You know it's the only option.'

The Doctor grimaced, and then stepped forward. He lowered his voice and narrowed his eyes. 'You shoot her – you _kill_ her – and...' He gritted his teeth and couldn't bring himself to finish the threat, but Jackman got the hint. The two men stood glaring at each other for a moment, daring the other to make a move. The lights above them dimmed suddenly and they both looked up. The Doctor ran a hand over his face.

'Is that her?' Randall asked shakily.

The Doctor didn't answer him. He looked back to Jackman and raised a finger. 'Remember what I said.' He said quietly, and then quickly headed out. After a moment, Jackman tucked the gun in his belt and followed him out.


	9. Getting Saner

**A/N: Meerrgh I don't know what's wrong with me but I'm finding it really hard to write. It's took me practically two days to write this chapter and it SO doesn't show lol. Because of my my sudden writing pains I think there's only going to be two more chapters. Three if I cut the next one in half... meh I don't know. It was Ashley's crazy insight I had the most bother with. Maybe because I'm not crazy myself. Or so I like to tell people xD**

* * *

**Chapter Nine **

**Getting Saner**

Ashley stood in the doorway, her breath coming in short gasps, and stared up at it. It seemed taller and wider – almost like it was looming over her. The windows seemed like they were staring down at her, blackness beyond them. Its deceitful size mocked her. She had thought it would be a sanctuary, but the Tardis looked like nothing more than a prison.

She backed away two steps and glanced around. Wires hung from the ceiling and strange machines groaned and clanked all around her. She took in their strangeness – how _alien_ they were, and shuddered.

Suddenly everything that had happened since the night the Doctor burst into her life seemed wrong. It seemed like for the first time she had a perfectly clear thought. What were those called again? Epiphanies? The Doctor was a man – no, an _alien_ – who she knew nothing about, who was taking her to places where she had no right being… Places that were dangerous. Staring up at the Tardis, she thought about their first trip. They had blundered straight into the hands of the man they had apparently trying to get away from.

Coincidence?

The Doctor himself said there was no such thing as coincidence.

Her life before the Doctor had been fine. She slept, ate, worked, played and slept again. It was a life any young woman in their twenties would want. And now she was running for her life across galaxies with a stranger. A man who wouldn't even tell her his real _name_. And suddenly possessing awful, _destructive_ powers. She had never had those before meeting the Doctor. So why would they suddenly appear like that?

The answer seemed painfully obvious. It was him. It was the Doctor. He had done this to her.

Ashley let out a long sigh and with it she relaxed. She closed her eyes briefly. In the space of a couple of seconds she came to three conclusions. One, she couldn't trust the Doctor. Two, she couldn't trust the Tardis. Three, she was stuck on this sub with three people who were no doubt helping the Doctor.

Didn't look good for her.

'So this is it, huh?' she mumbled.

Apparently so.

She looked around the machines surrounding her. If her life was ending right here, right now, she wasn't going to go down alone. She turned and closed the heavy door and then moved to the nearest batch of wires. She shielded her face with one arm, and ripped out a handful.

There was a voice somewhere in her head, screaming for her to stop, but she could barely hear it. The dripping was just too loud.

* * *

The Doctor stopped and looked up as the lights above them flickered. Beside him, Jackman looked up with a frown.

'What's that?' he asked, but already knew the answer.

'That's her.' The Doctor replied grimly.

'What, she can make the lights fuzz out as well as burning people alive?' Jackman scowled. 'And you didn't want me to bring a gun.'

'She must be in the power rooms.' The Doctor replied, ignoring his last statement. 'How do we get there?'

Jackman pointed down the corridor. 'It's not far.'

The Doctor started forward, but stopped when he realised that Jackman wasn't following. 'Well come on then!' he cried impatiently.

'I'm not going anywhere until I know what she is.' Jackman replied.

'I haven't got time for this. I'll go on my own then.'

'If she's in the power rooms she's probably shut the door,' Jackman called after him. 'And if she's shut the door then you'll need a code to get in.'

The Doctor reached in his pocket, quickly running out of patience. 'I don't need a code when I've got…' The screwdriver wasn't there. He checked the rest of his pockets, and then vividly remembered leaving it on the control panel in the Tardis. He hit his forehead with his palm. 'Idiot! You think I'd learn after the amount of times that thing has saved my life!'

Jackman only looked at him in confusion. 'I'm not going until you tell me.'

The Doctor sighed heavily and ran his fingers through his hair, the stress showing. He moved forward quickly. 'You don't need to know what she is, the only thing you need to do is take me to the power room, open the door, and then get back to your crew. I'm going to sort this out.'

Jackman laughed without humour. 'Is that so?'

'Yes that's so, Mr Jackman,' the Doctor yelled, patience now completely gone. Above them the lights flickered and buzzed. 'If you don't get down there and open that door right now then we're all going to be dead, do you understand me? At this moment in time she probably thinks everyone's out to get her. She'll be terrified. And a terrified, paranoid person is a very dangerous person, Mr Jackman. Now I strongly suggest that you stop being so stubborn and _open that door_!'

Jackman stared at him and the Doctor thought for one unbelievable moment that Jackman was going to start arguing with him again. But the moment passed and instead Jackman shoved past him and quickly headed down the corridor. The Doctor breathed out heavily and followed him.


	10. The Hardest Part

**A/N: Another double update. Why the hell not, eh? lol**

* * *

**Chapter Ten **

**The Hardest Part**

As they had expected, the door to the power room was shut. However it was obvious that Ashley was on the other side. Various thumps and bangs could be heard and the lights seemed to flicker in time with the sounds. The Doctor felt a dull ache somewhere inside of him. This wasn't just going to be difficult for her.

Jackman moved to the keypad by the door and went to input the code. The Doctor put his hand on his arm and shook his head.

'Not yet.' He told him.

Jackman didn't complain. He stepped back and watched apprehensively. The Doctor moved and stood by the door, gritting his teeth together as he composed himself. He quickly went over the situation in his head. Ashley was trashing the power room. So far she only seemed to be on the electronics, but it didn't sound like it would be long before she got around to the more important things like the fuel pipes and the air supply. The Doctor remembered that this also happened to be the same room where he parked the Tardis.

He hoped she hadn't gotten around to trashing that yet.

Finally he took a breath, and then knocked on the door. 'Ashley? It's me.'

The banging and the thudding stopped. He listened, but only a dull buzzing sounded from the others side. He pictured Ashley in his minds eye, half crouched with handfuls of wires, red hair wild, eyes round and terrified. He had to help her.

'Can you hear me, Ashley? It's me. The Doctor.'

'_Go away_!' Her voice sounded shrill and desperate. It cut through him.

'I'm here to help you,' he told her, trying to keep a level tone. 'You've been contaminated by whatever affected those people on the city. You just need to sit it out. I promise you it'll pass through your system and you'll be fine in a day or so.' He listened for a response, but only the thuds and bangs started again. The lights buzzed. 'What are you doing in there anyway? It's like a disco out here.' He hoped humour might help, but he had a strong feeling it wouldn't.

'Don't talk to me like you know me!' Ashley yelled from the other side. Her voice became louder as she approached the door. 'You don't know me! You don't know _anything about me_!'

'Ashley listen to me.' The Doctor said sternly. 'I know that this isn't you. I know you wouldn't hurt someone without having a good reason too. I know you wouldn't endanger anyone's life like you're doing right now.'

'Oh, sorry,' She laughed in a manic way that made with the Doctor and Jackman shudder. 'I forget… I forget you _do_ know me, don't you? You know more about me than _I_ do in fact! These things I can do, you know why I can do them, don't you?'

The Doctor gritted his teeth briefly. 'Ashley I'm coming in. I want to talk to you.'

'How the hell am I supposed to trust someone who keeps secrets, eh?' She demanded. 'I keep asking you to tell me and you _won't_! I've shared lots of things with you Doctor. I've shared so much and yet you won't even tell me your real _name_! How can I possibly trust someone who can't even tell me their name!'

'You know my name, Ashley-'

She thudded the door hard, making him recoil. '_Your name isn't the Doctor_!'

The Doctor looked to Jackman and nodded. 'I'm coming in now Ashley.'

Jackman frowned vaguely. 'Are you sure?' he whispered.

'I was thinking, you know,' Ashley's voice seemed fainter. She must have moved away from the door. 'Do you want to know what I was thinking?'

The Doctor raised a finger to Jackman. He paused and waited. 'What were you thinking?' he called through the door.

'I was thinking about that night. You know… that night where you first came to my house. You took me to the Tardis and you said you were going to take me somewhere safe. And you took me straight to _him_. You said that we got took there… that you had no control over it. But you would have known straight away. When you were flying it, you acted like you knew exactly where you were. I saw your face when you first opened the door to see that moon, and you didn't even look _surprised_! You _knew_ fine well where we were!'

'Ashley, no. That's not-'

'Don't _interrupt_!' she yelled. There was a silence, probably her waiting for him to try and speak again. 'You took me in there and while I was in the holding bay you went to talk to Crowe, didn't you? I bet you got a big old clap on the back for taking me there. And then you thought you'd mess with me.'

'You know that's ridiculous!' the Doctor cried. 'I got us out of there! Just let me explain…'

'I couldn't do any of the things I can before I met you!' Ashley cried back. 'How come I could suddenly burn things and… and control how people felt after I met you? You said yourself that there are no coincidences, Doctor. Explain _that_ to me!'

The Doctor fell silent. That had occurred to him before, but he had preferred not to think about it.

'And another thing. How do you expect me to trust you when all you do is lie to me?'

'I don't lie to you.'

'Yes you do and don't do it now! You lie all the time. Every single second I'm with you you're lying to me! You pretend that I'm there because you want me there, like you picked me to travel with you. You pretend that I'm your _friend_ when really-'

'Ashley-'

'When really you only have me there to keep an eye on me! Admit it Doctor. Admit it now or there's no chance I'll ever trust you.'

The Doctor looked down at the floor grimly. Jackman watched him silently. Ashley waited for an answer on the other side.

'You're right.' He said finally. 'It's so I can keep an eye on you.'

There was a pause, and then a bang on the other side of the door. 'Thank you for that one bit of honesty. Maybe now we're actually getting somewhere.'

'But the rest of it is absurd Ashley, I swear! I didn't take you to Crowe and I had nothing to do with your powers.'

'Do you have proof?'

He swallowed. 'Yes.'

'Oh, that thing that you can't tell me?'

'Yes.'

'Oh fantastic!' she cried sarcastically. 'Oh well isn't that convenient!'

'Ashley, I'm coming in.' He nodded to Jackman again firmly. 'I want to talk to you properly.'

Jackman tapped in the code. Before he hit the last number, he looked to the Doctor. 'I'm going to seal the door.' He told him. 'If she doesn't listen to you Doctor, I don't want her getting out.'

'It doesn't matter,' the Doctor replied. 'If she doesn't listen to me, then we're all dead anyway.'

Jackman looked at him for a moment. 'Good luck.' He said, and then pushed the last number. There was a click. The Doctor pulled open the door and stepped inside the room.

Wires lay everywhere, ripped out of their sockets. There was no pattern in the destruction, which proved she didn't know what any of the wires did. His gaze fell upon the Tardis, which was – for now – untouched. Finally he saw her off to the side, peering out from behind a piece of smoking machinery. She looked like he had expected; wild haired, wide eyed.

'Oh, Ashley…' he sighed sadly, shaking his head. 'I'm so sorry.'

Ashley narrowed her eyes briefly at him, and then stepped out. Her hands were writhing quickly in front of her, almost like they had lives of their own. 'I don't trust you y'know.' She told him.

The Doctor nodded sadly. 'I know.'

'Do you want to know the main reason why?'

He just nodded. His voice seemed to have failed him for the time being.

Ashley half smiled. 'Because of the dreams.'

'Dreams?'

She nodded rapidly, pressing her lips together. 'I've been having them loads recently. Well I should say _it_ because it's the same dream. It's the dream where I die.'

The Doctor just continued to look at her silently.

'I… I'm in this place. This really, really cold place. You're there.' She flicked a hand in his direction and suddenly it seemed that she was fighting tears. 'I think you're trying to get to me… but I just fall anyway.' She looked at him. 'You keep promising that you'll protect me, but you just let me fall.'

He started forward. 'It's just a dream, Ashley. It hasn't happened.'

She flinched at his approach but stood her ground. 'Then why is it when I wake up, my nose and my fingers are freezing? Why do I see my breath for a little while after? It's too vivid to be a dream, Doctor. It's the future, and if I go with you it'll happen.'

'No it won't. I won't let anything happen to you.'

She suddenly turned angry. 'But you _have_ let something happen to me!' She pointed to the left and one of the machines burst into flames. '_This_ happened to me!'

The Doctor watched the flames anxiously. 'It wasn't my fault.'

'Then who's fault was it? If it wasn't yours then who's was it?'

The Doctor looked at her. She marched towards him.

'You tell me right now!' she screamed.

'Or what?' the Doctor yelled back. 'Are you going to burn me? Burn me like you did Kimi Ellis?' He spread his arms out. 'Go ahead! Then everything will be fine, won't it? Your dream won't come true! But you'll still die! That fire will spread and soon you'll burn to death. Do you want that do happen?'

She stared at him with wet, unblinking eyes. She flinched as he yelled once more in her face.

'Well _do you_?'

She swallowed and glanced down at her hands, then back up to him. She pursed her lips. 'I'm sorry, Doctor.' She whispered, a tear sliding down her cheek.

The Doctor only had the chance to look briefly confused when she slammed her hand in the middle of his chest. He screamed out in agony as unbearable heat surged through his system.


	11. Essential Trust

**A/N: Okay I'm finishing this story off tonight just so it's done really and while I still know how it's going to end lol. One more chapter after this and it'll be finitooo :P **

* * *

**Chapter Eleven **

**Essential Trust**

Jackman was halfway back to the sickbay when he was halted by the Doctor's screams. He stood listening, feeling his heart rate increasing. He had just sealed that man in that room with her. What if he was screaming to be out? What if she was slowly burning him and he was screaming for help?

Jackman tried to continue to the sickbay, telling himself that he needed to get Kimi and Randall to safety, that it was that Doctor's fault for coming on board in the first place, but he couldn't make his feet move in the direction he wanted. Instead he felt himself turning and running back the way he had come.

He wouldn't be able to live with that screaming haunting his dreams at night.

* * *

It felt like his chest was about to explode. That was where most of the heat was – right beneath her hand. He could feel the veins protruding on his temples and neck. His skin felt stretched. His blood felt like it was boiling. For what seemed like a long time he could do nothing but scream, the pain was so intense. But that part of his mind that seemed to be able to stay calm through anything was ordering him to talk to her, to try and calm her down. If he couldn't calm her down in the next minute then he was going to be nothing but a pile of ashes at her feet.

'Ashley…' he wheezed. '_Please…_ don't do this…'

He managed to open his eyes and, although black spots threatened his vision, he saw her face. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and her eyes were tightly closed. They were both on their knees. The only thing keeping the Doctor upright was the pain in his system.

'You don't want to kill me,' he told her. 'Stop…'

'_Shut up!_' she sobbed. 'Stop it! Just shut up!'

'Ashley… you're killing me…'

'All you have to do is tell me!' Ashley yelled. 'All you have to do is tell me the truth!'

The pain became unbearable again and then Doctor screamed out. '_Please_!' he cried. '_I'm begging you!_'

'Tell me the truth!'

'You have to stop! Please I-'

'I have to know! I need to know what I am!'

'_I can't_! It _hurts_…'

Ashley gritted her teeth and a new burst of heat shot through his system. He could feel the skin beneath her hand blistering. It was agony. He wouldn't be able to stay conscious much long and if he passed out…

'_Just tell me_!'

The Doctor summoned up every piece of energy he had remaining. '_You're alone_!' he yelled, louder than it should have been physically possible for him. _'You're alone!_ Like me… _alone…_'

Ashley stared at him with wide teary eyes. She watched his face contorting in agony. She watched his skin getting redder and redder and she realised what she was doing. With a cry she snatched her hand back and scrambled back on her hands and feet. Horrified, she watched as the Doctor fell on his side. Wisps of smoke floated up from his skin. He let out a throaty groan. Ashley let out a huge sob.

'I'm sorry!' she cried, and then put both hands over her mouth to stifle a louder, more hysterical sob. She looked around to see the fire she had caused now raging. She looked back to the Doctor. His eyes were half open.

'It's okay…' he told her in a broken voice.

Ashley let out a bigger, anguished sob and began to crawl towards him. Suddenly the door flew open, hitting the wall with a loud _bang_. She looked up, startled, to see Jackman pointing a gun right at her. The Doctor tried to turn to see him.

'No…' he started, weakly.

Ashley's mouth dropped open but Jackman pulled the trigger. She flew backwards, slamming against the front of the Tardis and ending up slumped against it, unconscious. Jackman hopped over a bunch of live wires towards the Doctor, shielding himself from the growing fire. Before he had a chance to lift him, the Doctor turned and grabbed the front of his shirt.

'What did you do?' he demanded. '_What did you do_!?'

Jackman stared at the Doctor's reddened face and his bloodshot eyes, and raised the stun gun. 'She'll only be out for half an hour.' He told him with a shaky voice. 'I set it a little higher than normal so it might be a bit longer.'

The Doctor continued to stare at him with his teeth gritted together – although it was just to try and control the pain tearing through him. Finally, he managed to speak. 'Key.' He said.

Jackman frowned. 'What?'

'There's a… a key in my pocket. Use it to open the Tardis.'

Jackman just blinked at him. 'What? What's a Tardis?'

'The huge blue box standing in your control room!' the Doctor growled, finding it harder and harder to stay conscious. 'Open the door and help me get inside.'

Jackman looked at him unsurely. 'But the fire…'

'Just do it!'

Jackman quickly got the key from the Doctor's pocket and ran to the Tardis, having to use four attempts at getting the key in the lock. Finally he managed and shoved the door open. He ran back and helped the Doctor to his feet, but still ended up practically carrying him to the Tardis. He helped him through the door, and then froze.

'Oh my Lord…' Jackman muttered, staring up at the large interior.

'There's no time for that,' the Doctor wheezed, holding himself up on one of the coral beams. 'Get Ashley… bring her in here…'

Jackman blinked, and then headed back out. A moment later and he dragged Ashley over the threshold with his hands under arms. He lay her on the floor, and then looked towards the Doctor for further instructions.

'You need to get your crew out of here right now.' The Doctor told him, stumbling towards the controls. 'That fire is going to hit the fuel pipes any minute and blow this sub apart. You have to get them…' He paused and grimaced in pain, dropping to his knees. He gasped to regain control of himself. '… you have to get them into an escape pod and get Kimi to the nearest hospital…'

'But what about you two-'

'Just do it,' the Doctor ordered. 'And keep that key. You'll need it to get us out of here when you get back. Where is the nearest hospital by the way?'

Jackman swallowed and thought. Outside something crashed as the fire burnt through it. This jogged his memory. 'Saint Josephines!' he cried. 'It's on a lunar colony-'

'I know where it is…' the Doctor nodded as he gripped the controls. 'Just… just go…'

Jackman cast one last look around the interior of the Tardis, and then ran out. He slammed the door behind him. The Doctor, trying his best to regain conscious, set the coordinates for the hospital. He pulled the lever and the Tardis hummed into life.

With that job done, he allowed himself to drop to his knees. Every part of him felt sore and tender. He looked over his shoulder. Ashley lay unconscious on the floor, her face streaked with soot and dirt. Her left hand was bright red. He crawled towards her. Black spots began to grow over his vision. He tried to blink them away but it was getting harder and harder to keep himself awake. He managed to reach her, collapsing with his face onto inches from her, his body splayed out in the opposite direction – her face upside down to him. He opened his mouth to speak to her, but the blackness finally prevailed and he slipped away into it.


	12. Forgiveness

**Chapter Twelve **

**Forgiveness**

Ashley opened her eyes and gasped, and then she closed them quickly again. The brightness had burned bright shapes on her retinas and she watched them for a moment before attempting to open her eyes again. She did so tentatively, opening the left eye first – slowly – followed by the right. Then she glanced around.

The room she was in was white. White floor, white ceiling, white walls. She lay there for a moment, feeling the soft surface beneath her and the unfamiliar light feeling of cotton on her skin. For a moment she thought she was dead. Would make sense as the last thing she could remember was being shot in the chest. She lifted a hand and touched her chest, and then hissed in pain. Although it wasn't her chest that had hurt like she had expected, it was her hand. She looked at it, eyebrows knitted together. The whole of the palm of her hand and the insides of her fingers were red and blistered. She winced and poked the palm of her hand, resulting in nothing but an awful stinging sensation. She hissed through her teeth.

And then remembered.

She lay back as she replayed the memories in her head. Then she sat upright suddenly with the Doctor's name in her throat. She sat up too quickly and she come over all dizzy. She put her uninjured hand to her head and closed her eyes, waiting for the feeling to pass.

There was a crackle of static from somewhere and she glanced up in alarm. Then a familiar voice.

'Ashley?'

Her heart jumped. 'Doctor?'

She looked around frantically and finally saw him. A sudden wave of emotion engulfed her and she actually whimpered. He stood on the other side of a window, holding a phone to his ear. His right arm was strapped up loosely to his chest and he had various small plasters on his face and arms. For once he wasn't wearing his shirt and suit. He was wearing a regular black t-shirt. In it he looked like any other normal human being. Any other normal injured human being.

Despite his many burns and scrapes, he smiled weakly at her. It only made her heart ache even more for what she had done to him. She slid down off the bed she had been lying on and looked down at herself. She was dressed in a plain white hospital gown. She started to walk but her left leg wasn't as strong as she had anticipated, causing her to stumble.

'They put a lot of drugs in your system,' the Doctor explained to her, almost apologetically. 'They wanted to do some tests, so you might be a bit woozy for a while.'

Ashley made her way to the window and stood at it. She looked at him, unable to stop the tears welling up in her eyes. He looked back. For a moment she thought he was going to cry too. Instead he blinked and looked past her.

'I've been talking to the scientists,' he said into the phone, sounding like he was trying considerably hard to sound jovial. 'And we put all of our dribs and drabs of information together and came up with a solution to what was going on there. Turns out it was the ocean. The uh… it was a defence mechanism. Oh how do I explain it…' He clicked his fingers and frowned, searching for a good explanation. Ashley watched him sadly. 'Think of the ocean like a big, big amoeba, and it splits and divides all the time into new forms. Well a single drip is like a completely new life form and if that gets into your system its soul purpose is to push your body to its limit. And when you push a human body to its limit it breaks down, doesn't it? Hallucinates. You're all so imaginative that you get paranoid and invent things. The whole idea of that is to prevent creatures from invading its space. I was telling the scientists that if they sent an excavation team – which I told them they definitely _shouldn't_ – they would probably find layers upon layers of skeletons on the seabed. That's why they couldn't distinguish any beings on that planet. It's because they were _in_ it.' He looked moderately proud with his explanation, but when he saw the look on Ashley's face, his smile fell.

She tried to smile for him. 'Do I need a uh… a phone?' she asked in a wavering voice.

He smiled back a little. 'No. I can hear you.'

She tried to hold the smile, but her lip trembled. 'I'm so sorry…' she sobbed suddenly. She put a hand to her mouth and shook her head. Her chest hitched as sobs racked through her.

The Doctor looked pained. His own eyes welled up. 'I know.' He told her. 'It's okay.'

'It's not okay!' she cried, her voice muffled behind her hand. 'I could have killed you!'

'But you didn't,' he tried to smile. 'That's the main thing. Look?' He prodded himself in the arm. 'Still here.' He winced and rubbed his arm. 'Okay I better not do that for a while.'

Ashley wiped her eyes with the heel of her palm. 'You should leave me here.' She told him with a big, wet sniff. 'I'm too dangerous.'

The Doctor frowned. 'What? Now why would I leave you here? It's very boring you know.'

She looked at him in confusion, wiping away the wetness from her cheeks. She sniffed again and blinked. 'What?'

He was smiling at her, but this didn't stop tears rolling down his own cheeks. 'Come on,' he said. 'If I left you here I wouldn't have anyone to play badminton with on the moon.'

Ashley laughed a little, looking down. The laugh didn't last long though and her bottom lip quivered again. She looked up again, biting the inside of her mouth to control the overwhelming emotions.

'Are you okay though?' she managed to ask in a wavering voice.

'Me?' The Doctor screwed up his nose. 'I'm fine. I've had a lot worse than this. There was this one time where I absorbed the heart of the Tardis. That hurt quite a bit. Killed me actually… well… technically. I also had Spectrox toxaemia… actually that killed me too…'

Ashley was suddenly smiling. Then she laughed. Then she sobbed a little, and then laughed again. The Doctor watched her sadly, and then put his hand on the glass.

'Well be out of here soon.' He told her. 'We'll get far away from here. Forget about all of this.'

Ashley looked up at him. She put her burnt and blistered hand over his and shook her head sadly. 'We won't forget it.' She said, solemnly.

The Doctor just looked bad at her. He kept his hand where it was, over hers, and they stood in silence.

She was right. They wouldn't forget. There were too many scars.

**THE END**

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**A/N: Well this was one of the most depressing stories in the world to write! Don't know how it felt to read it... but I guess it was a heck of a lot different from 'The Lonesome Shapeshifter' eh? I don't know how I feel about this story to be honest, I've never been good with angst. Had to be done though. Needed to be done really for the final episodes. Thanks to everyone reading and reviewing - big special thanks to ScreamsOnScreen and Gracie O'Malley who are the best reviewers ever - seriously it's nearly every chapter lol! You both rock xD And everyone else as well, you all rock. Like rock cakes! I haven't had a rock cake for ages...  
**

**ANYWHO... I suppose this brings us on to Episode 9. Yeah... well, uh... I kind of don't have any ideas so you might have a long wait for that one... Unless someone wants to help and give me an idea? Oh god that's awful of me, resorting to begging for ideas lol!... forget I did... I can think of my own - might just take a while xD**


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